


A Guide on How to Write Stand By Me Fanfiction: Cobras Edition

by Izout



Category: Stand By Me (1986)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izout/pseuds/Izout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All you need to know when creating a story about our favorite gang of hoodlums.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Guide on How to Write Stand By Me Fanfiction: Cobras Edition

A Guide on How to Write Stand By Me Fanfiction: Cobras Edition

Summary: All you need to know when creating a story about our favorite gang of hoodlums.

Disclaimer: Not mines, don't sue.

A/N: Decided to do a sequel. Yes, I am aware I am taking things from the first fic, but I own them anyway. Plus, isn't it sad that some of the plots are so generic I can swap them from one fic to another, change a few words, and still get the same result?

I seek not to offend, only to amuse myself.

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"They should be here any minute." Ace Merrill told himself as he lit up one cigarette.

Ace Merrill, real name John, was outside the local bar waiting on his fellow Cobras to show up so they could begin their usual activities. Vince was at late night mass at the moment, which should be finishing up. Billy said he had to take care of a few errands and then he'll be there. Charlie and Fuzzy had both told him that they some other things to do, but they will show up. And Eyeball had told him it will take a while since his old man told him that he and his shit stain brother Chris had to hang out with their uncle for a while.

Chris…

That name infuriated Ace to no end. A couple of months ago, Billy and Charlie told him that they had found the body of Ray Brower, so all got together to go down to the Back Harlow to claim the body, only to be beaten to the punch by those little fuckers. Even worse, one of those kids, Lachance, at actually raise a gun at him. HIM. Since that day, Ace had vowed he would get them back and was still waiting for the right moment to get his revenge.

"I ain't got all day." Ace huffed out the cigarette smoke as he glanced at the little boy standing next to him.

Wait? Little boy?

Ace slowly turned his head at the little boy standing just next to him, wearing something out of Oliver Twist, and holding a book.

"Special delivery." The boy spoke as he handed Ace a book. Ace took it, glanced at it, then glance back at the boy who had disappeared. Looking around, Ace got closer to the street light in order to get a better look. It was a leather bound book with a yellow cover, written in crimson lettering that read, "A GUIDE ON HOW TO WRITE STAND BY ME FANFICTION: COBRAS EDITION: All you need to know when creating a story about our favorite gang of hoodlums."

Ace threw out his cigarette.

"What the fuck is this?"

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It is natural that once a book, TV show, or movie starts to become popular, fanfiction of it will be written about it in a matter of minutes by the fandom. Sure, every story will it fair share of main characters, but of the secondary ones? What if one wanted to explore those guys for a change? Well, this guide has been created to help those who wish to write stories about our favorite ne'er–do–wells.

The Corbas in a nutshell

Almost every town in America will have it fair share of gangs and Castle Rock is almost no exception. The Cobras are a group who smoke, drink, cause property damage, sleep around, and every other criminal activity you can think of. When they aren't doing those things, they are terrorizing and tormenting our favorite group of boys Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio. They are a bad group of people, but there's something about being bad that's just so attractive.

Step One - Choosing a Genre

Now, now, readers. Lets not be hasty. There is no point ploughing on ahead to select your plot until you have chosen your genre of choice.

Romance – A favorite among many. There are some pairings you expect (Ace/OC), some pairings you rather like (Ace/Eyeball), and pairings many people experiment with, but none that quite stick (Billy/Charlie, Eyeball/OC, Billy /OC). So many aspire to write it and so few succeed.

Drama – It's tough living inside a small time. Tales of not living up to your parents' expectation, love triangles, fighting to break your reputation, not fulfilling your dreams, and even making the ultimate choice.

Adventure – Come on now, who's to say finding Ray Brower was the only adventure the boys went on? Who's to say they haven't gone on their own road trips, or had run-ins with rival gangs? Very few ever actually write this since once fic writers are young women who are in it more for the fluffy romances and drama. Better to combine with another genre if you want others to check it out.

Angst – The life of a gang member is a tough one. Being loyal to your leader, or to family? Never knowing what is the right chose. If you want to gather a nice little armful of reviews, either make your ending bittersweet enough to crack a smile or so damn tragic that the readers' eyes will be flooded in tears for the next ten minutes. Remember: The aim is to make an impression.

Step Two – Choosing a Plot

We say choosing because technically no imagination is required at all. Below is a list compiled of a number of successful/favored plots that have proven themselves time and time again. (The majority work for all pairings.)

Mary Sue

Yes, the ever so reviled Mary Sue. Sometimes she's a relative of one of the guys: Gordie's cousin, Chris' and Eyeballs' sister, Vern's cousin, Teddy's cousin, Ace's little sister, Chris' and Eyeballs' cousin, etc. Sometimes, she's The New Girl. Other times, she was someone who was there the entire time, but we just didn't see her for this or that reason. But in the end, they all share the same things: They all come from a non-descript background, they will have pretty eyes, they will have nice hair, they will have a great figure, and they will help out our heroes before falling madly in love in one or the other. Mary Sue plots can be split into four categories:

New Girl Moves to Town

A timeless classic for one and all. Sometimes, she's a childhood friend of one of the boys who moved away and is now moving back. Sometimes, she a new girl who's moved around a lot and is now is making a permanent stay in Castle Rock due to their parent's job requirement. Other times, she's a cousin of one of the boys who staying only for the summer (So there can be a heartbreaking scene at the end where she has to leave). But no matter which way you look at it, they are all the same story at their core: She comes to Castle Rock, wanders around time, and runs into either Ace Merrill or Eyeball Chambers, where they will develop a friendship that will inevitably lead to them falling in love. Usually Ace attracts the most Sues, with Eyeball second, though Billy have his fair share of Sues. Vince and Fuzzy gets the least.

Female Member of the Gang 

As many know, Stand By Me was a great movie, but there are those who thought it was missing something; that there was something lacking. And that were the Light bulb flashes. What if… hear me out… what if… there was a girl in the gang? Usually these Sues will be a relative of one of the boys: Ace's sister, Eyeball's sister, or Billy's sister. Other times she one of the boys' latest fling only hanging out with them because they are their boyfriend's friends. But one thing that sets her apart from the other Cobras is they are generally the "least offensives" of the Cobras. While she has no problem with the smoking, drinking, whoring, and property damage, she does take offense on how they treat poor little Gordie and his friends. Though, the most she'll do about it is either be on friendly terms with the boys, or warn them that Cobras are near by in the event she sees one of them passing by.

There is also fics that flip the coin on the other side by adding a female member to Gordie's, Chris', Teddy's, and Vern's gang. These fics usually tend to be retellings of the movie, but a girl thrown in, a few lines of dialogue changed, and a romantic sub-plot (See A Guide on How to Write Stand By Me Fanfiction).

The Prize 

By the age of seventeen, Ace Merrill has slept with half the female population of Castle Rock (and a few girls from The View/Fairview/whichever way you spell it). Instead of making him look like a slut, it makes them all cool and stuff, but lo and behold, here comes a new girl (See New Girl) who won't line herself up for Ace to take. Whether through a bet or making this a personal challenge Ace sets out to make her his. At first, she will try to resist his "blazing eyes" and "good looks", but will eventually succumb to his "charms". And who knows, maybe this experience will cause Ace to come out a better person from it.

Step Three – Getting to Know the Characters and Their Personalities

Ace Merrill: Ace Merrill, real name John, is the leader of the Cobras. Just one look at him will tell you to either not look, or it's best to get your things and get out while the getting gets good. Always with his trusty pocket knife, Ace is not a man to take lightly with. He smokes, drinks, sleeps around, and plays such fun games as Mailbox Baseball. His best friend and right hand man is Eyeball Chambers. What Ace says is law, and anyone who dares try to say other way will not want to see what will happen to them.

As the leaders of their respective gangs, Ace often finds himself bumping heads with Eyeball's kid brother Chris, who the two have somewhat of a rivalry going on. Whether they are sworn enemies or not depends entirely on you.

Ace portrayal in fanfic is usually split into three ways: He's either a Complete Monster with no redeeming qualities and no crime, be it rape or murder, being considered a step too low for him. He's a generic gang leader, where his word is law, and what decisions be made depend entirely on him. Or he portrayed as he was in the movie, but with a few things here and there to show the audience that he's not all bad.

Eyeball Chambers: Eyeball Chambers, real name Richard, is another member of the Cobras. He's Ace's best friend, right hand man, and occasional henchmen. Eyeball is the older brother of Chris Chambers (He also has another brother name Frank and four other siblings, but nobody ever really touches on them, so we'll just ignore them) who has an interesting relationship with. Eyeball often tends to just standby as Ace picks on his brother without doing anything to stop, though if one watches closely when Ace pulls out a knife on Chris, you could see some concern on Eyeball's face. These two have an interesting relationship that could be fun to explore, but unfortunately very few do.

In fanfic, Eyeball is either a generic henchman character, or a deep troubled tortured soul who comes from a screwed up family, has a difficult relationship with his little brother, and wants to make something of himself.

Billy Tessio: Billy is another member of the Cobras and the older brother of Vern Tessio. While Eyeball's relationship with his brother can be describe as difficult, Billy's relationship with Vern can be describe as anything but loving. Very rarely will you see a fic where Billy is shown to care for Vern.

Charlie Hogan: Charlie is another member of the Cobras. He's friends with Billy and… well that's it.

Vince: Vince is another member of the Cobras and… well that's it.

Fuzzy: See Vince.

Thank you for reading and good luck on your future Stand By Me fics! 

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What the fuck did I just read? Ace thought to himself. He started to think that maybe Chris and his friends wrote this, but there was no way they could have gone through the trouble to make this. But maybe they could have? While he didn't like Lachance, he had to admit from what he heard and read, the kid had talent as a writer. Maybe he did write this. Maybe not. But from this experience, Ace will make sure tomorrow to give those little bastards a "visit" the next time he sees them.

"Hey Ace." called out a voice. Ace turned his head and saw Eyeball and the gang pulling into the driveway and getting out of their cars.

"'Bout time you ladies showed up. Finished putting on your make-up?" Ace sarcastically asked them with the corner of his mouth arched up in a sneer.

"Well…" Before Eyeball could began explaining, he saw the book in Ace's hand. "What's that?" He pointed at the book. Ace just took one last look at it before throwing it in the trash.

"Nothing," he stated matter-of-factly, "Let's have some fun.


End file.
